Pipe wrench



1-; RUDY. PIPE WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1921.

Patented Aug. 1, 1922.

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JOHN RUDY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT PIPE wnruvcn.

To all whom it may concern Be it'known that 1, JOHN RUDY, a citizen of Poland, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pipe Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in pipe wrenches, and the object of my i1nprovement is to produce a pipe wrench that by reason of a unique and novel arrangement of the parts is of compact form, involving an offset location of the gripping jaws relatively to the handle and shank whereby operation will be permitted on pipes that are in relatively inaccessible positions, and wherein the fixed member is in the form of a substantially straight piece having the different parts along the length thereof shaped so as to be adapted for the individual functions, thus reducing the stock required and reducing the forming operations to a minimum.

In the accompanyng drawing Figure l is a side elevation of a pipe wrench embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the head end portion of the same with the head broken away so as to expose the shank of the movable jaw member and adjacent parts, involving the structure of the mechanism for adjusting said movable jaw member and the positioning spring.

Figure 3 is an edge view of the complete pi e wrench structure.

y improved pipe wrench comprises a fixed member or handle member 10 having a handle 11 at one end, a head 12 at the other end, and a shank 13 connecting said handle and head, these parts being arranged in substantially rectilinear form, the head 12. terminating in the form of a jaw 1% that is generally positioned along the line of said axis.

The tip end 15 at the head end is approximately V-shape, the bottom edge or face 16, as shown in Fig. 1, sloping downwardly and rearwardly, and the top edge or face, which serves as gripping face 17 of the jaw 14 mentioned, slopes upwardly and rearwardly and is also serrated, as is usual, and as indicated by the character 18., which designates the teeth.

Thus the jaw 14 represents a triangular structure at the: outer end of the head 12, having the apex 15 substantially in line with Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug,

1921. Serial no. 488,525. 1

the longitudinal axis of the wrench struc ture, and is therefore adapted to be entered into relatively confinedspaces for operating upon a pipe, as when said pipe is close'to an other pipe. j I j The moving aw member 19 hasa aw20 that is supported on one end of a shank 21.

The said shank 21 is flattened so as to have a generally rectangular form of cross-section and has screw threads along the opposite side edges 22 for engaging with an annular adjusting nut 23, as is common.

The jaw 20 has a gripping face 24 that is opposed to the gripping facel? on the fixed jaw 14: and is a counterpart thereof so as to be adapted to engage with the surface of a pipe to be operated upon.

The gripping face 24 of the jaw 20 overhangs the shank 21 outwardly or to the left, as shown, and the angle between said face 2-1 and the axis ofthe shank 21 is preferably slightly obtuse,'in lieu of a right angle, as is usual. I

This arrangement of the partsv permits of operatively housing the major portion of the shank 21 within the structure of the head 12, inthe body portion 25 thereof, immedi-Q through the bodyportion 25 and the lateral walls are pierced to provide a transverse opening 27 for the annular adjusting nut 23.

In order to provide for a swinging or rocking movement of the parts the opening or chamber 26 is flared at both the upper end portion 28 and the lower end portion 29, as shown. The fulcrum for such movement is provided by the opposed faces 30 of the nut 23 and the upper wall of the transverse opening 27 A positioning spring 31 may be located in the chamber 26 back of the shank 21 which tends to hold the jaws in the open position.

As mentioned, the fixed jaw 14 is adapted to be entered into confined spaces for engaging with the work, and the structure as a whole is adapted to be entered into corners and the like in a superior manner for coopcrating with the work, the invention being found in constructing and arranging elearrangement mentioned, that there is provided a novel arrangement of the relations of the gripping facesofjtheljaws and the. I Said shank is supported for longitudinalmove shank of the moving jaw nem'ber.

ment in the body of thei fixed structure.

The grippingface ofthe jaw of the moving i .I claim as my invention. I i a 15 In a pipe rench, a fixed member having a handle shank, a body, and a jaw arranged in order along an axial line and with the tip 10f said jj aWatione-end iof said line, a moving member having a jaW for cooperating with the jaw on the fixed member and a stem that is operatively' supported by said body and is positioned diagonally across said *line, and

said members being constructed and arranged so that said axial line is substantially rectilinear and the pipe receiving opening thatis defined by saidjaws is entirely on one side of said line, with the mouth 'orf en: trance portion adjacent said line.

JOHN RUDY. 

